Joe Flacco will be the Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback for at least one more game.
Anthony Richardson (oblique; questionable) is inactive and will serve as the emergency third QB for the Colts' Week 6 road game against the Tennessee Titans, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Sunday. Pelissero adds that Richardson could play if needed, but the team wants to give him another week.
The second-year signal-caller, who received a questionable designation on Friday and was a game-time decision, injured his hip during a Week 4 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers and missed his team's Week 5 tilt against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It will be Richardson's second game missed in as many weeks and his 15th out of a possible 23 games during his brief career.
In a stunning development, though, the Colts will have No. 1 wide receiver Michael Pittman active. Pittman injured his back and was expected to miss multiple games with a trip to injured reserve not out of the question. Instead, he's active on Sunday, as well.
Through four starts this season, Richardson has struggled with his accuracy, having completed just 50.6% of his passes (39 of 77) for 654 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions. He's added one TD on the ground.
The forever-young Flacco, 39, got the starting nod in Richardson's absence and in two games has thrown for five touchdowns and 527 yards. Though Flacco's command of the offense has yielded better statistical results, head coach Shane Steichen has made it clear that this is Richardson's team when he's healthy. That's not the case yet, though.
While Flacco and the Colts will be aiming for a win Sunday, Richardson's health will continue to be a long-term cause for consternation.
Richardson's final game of 2023 just so happened to be against the Titans. In Week 5 of last year, Richardson was 9 of 12 for 98 yards before he sustained a shoulder injury that would land him on injured reserve for the remainder of his rookie campaign.
As for Flacco's history with the Titans, he's 3-3 as a starter against them, but will be playing against Tennessee for the first time since Week 6 of the 2019 season. As a starter for the Denver Broncos, Flacco helped his squad to a 16-0 victory. He'll be vying for similar results.
Flacco and the visiting Colts (2-3) kick off against the Titans (1-3) at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
